Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Raised to $420.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $408.00 to $420.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 13.49% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $485.52. The company had a trading volume of 320,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,617. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $124.68 billion, a PE ratio of -221.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $477.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $731,283,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,190,626,000 after buying an additional 1,410,238 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.